Boot scraper for application to a ski

ABSTRACT

A boot scraping means for application to a ski includes an elongated member connected to the upper surface of the ski in front of the toe binding. The member is provided with upwardly projecting parts which extend across the ski in several directions relative to the longitudinal axis of the ski. The parts are rigid and are adapted to receive the lower part of a ski boot from substantially any direction in a frictional engagement to thereby dislodge snow from the boot. Control of the ski is provided during use of the boot scraper by an upwardly projecting crown piece having a receptacle large enough to receive a ski pole in a snug engagement. Pressure on the ski pole restrains movement of the ski while the boot is passed over the boot scraper.

United States Patent [191 Hennig 1 July 30, 1974 1 BOOT SCRAPER FORAPPLICATION TO A 21 App]. No: 277,168

501,788 7/1893 Horrocks 15/241 740,478 10/1903 Shrum 923,997 6/1909Prouty 3,284,091 11/1966 Spier 280/1 1.13 T

FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 69,435 7/1945 Norway 280/1 1.13 C225,050 8/1910 Gcrmany....' 280/1 1.13 T 60,822 8/1913 Austria 280/11.13 T

149,400 4/1937 Austria 280/1 1.13 D

Primary Examiner-Kenneth H. Betts Assistant ExaminerDavid M. MitchellAttorney, Agent, or FirmD. Laurence Padilla [57] ABSTRACT A bootscraping means for application to a ski includes an elongated memberconnected to the upper surface of the ski in front of the toe binding.The member is provided with upwardly projecting parts which extendacross the ski in several directions relative to the longitudinal axisof the ski. The parts are rigid and are adapted to receive the lowerpart of a ski boot from substantially any direction in a frictionalengagement to thereby dislodge snow from the boot. Control of the ski isprovided during use of the boot scraper by an upwardly projecting crownpiece having a receptacle large enough to receive a ski pole in a snugengagement. Pressure on the ski pole restrains movement of the ski whilethe boot is passed over the boot scraper.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BOOT SCRAPER FOR APPLICATION TO A SKIBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention This invention relatesto an improved boot scraper in combination with a ski and control meansfor controlling the movement of the ski when the boot scraper is beingused.

2. Description of Prior Art Skiing has fast become one of the worldsmost popular sports. In almost every country the popularity of thissport gains substantially each year. In the United States, its fastgrowth has given rise to an important in dustry which has become highlycompetitive. Manufacturers of ski related equipment are continuouslyseeking innovations which will enable them to gain a favorable edge overcompetitors in the market. Improvements in skis, boots, bindings, polesand other equipment have been the focal point of the manufacturersattention. As a result, skiing equipment and the sport itself havereached a new level of success.

There is, however, still a need for further improvement in some of theski equipment now used. For example, it is essential that the skierclean the sole of his boot prior to stepping into his binding so thatthe boot will not be snow locked to the ski. A clean boot solefacilitates easy locking and" unlocking of the boot in step in bindings.A clean boot sole is essential if the boot is to properly release fromthe binding under emergency conditions. Despite this important need,little commercial success has been attained with an appropriate bootscraper. Part of the difficulty is that a portable boot scraper, whichis manually applied to the boot just prior to placing the boot in abinding is cumbersome and awkward to use and so is unacceptable to theaverage skier. Connecting a boot scraper to the ski itself has also notbeen successful for several reasons. On the one hand, an appropriateconstruction which will not interfere with the performance of the ski isrequired and this presents major problems to the manufacturer.Sophisticated boot scrapers requiring intricate machining operationsduring their assembly are too uneconomical to manufacture. Furthermore,the boot scraper must be structured and positioned so that a skier caneasily clean one boot while the other boot is in its binding. Thisrequirement also presents a difficult problem since the boot scrapermust be effective to receive the sole of the boot from almost anydirection. In addition, the entire cleaning operation must becomfortable to the skier and therefore control of the ski must bemaintained during the cleaning. Thus far, none of the prior art deviceshave been successful in solving all of these problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING It is the primary object of thisinvention to provide a boot scraper in combination with a ski which isadapted to receive and clean the lower surface of a ski boot when theboot is moved across the scraper in substantially any direction.

It is another object of this invention to provide control means for usein conjunction with a boot scraper and ski to enable the skier tocontrol the movement of the ski when cleaning a ski boot.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a boot scraperin combination with a ski which is economical to manufacture andassemble.

These and other objects will become apparent from the followingdescription of the invention taken in conjunction with the followingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination of a ski and boot scraperwith a ski pole positioned in the crown section of the boot scraper;

FIG. 2 is a partial top view of the combination of FIG. 1, andspecifically of the boot scraper; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the boot scraper taken on line 33of FIG. 2 and includes a ski pole and a ski boot in operative positionrelative to the boot scraper.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Broadly described the inventioncomprises in combination with a ski, a boot scraping means which itselfcomprises a member operatively connected to the upper surface of theski, and a plurality of rigid parts projecting upwardly from the member.The parts are oriented on the member so as to extend across the memberin several directions relative to the longitudinal axis of the ski andare structured to receive and clean the lower surface of a ski boot.With this construction, a ski boot may be scraped against the parts fromsubstantially any direction thus allowing the skier a high degree ofmobility while cleaning his boots.

In the preferred form of the invention, the boot scraper comprises anelongated member attached to the upper surface of the ski and extendingalong the longitudinal axis of the ski. The upwardly projecting partsmay be composed of the same material as the member and integrally formedtherewith and extend across the member in several of randomly orientedsections but preferably are V-shaped sections extending across theentire width of the member. When a plurality of aligned closely spacedV-sections are positioned on the member the lower surface of a boot iseasily brought in contact with any section from any direction and thefriction created by passing the boot over the projecting section issufficient to clean the snow from the boot.

Inorder to assist the skier while the boot cleaning is being carriedout, a control means for controlling the movement of the ski during thecleaning operation is also provided. Preferably, the control meanscomprises a crown piece extending upwardly from the ski and defining areceptacle which is adapted to receive a ski pole in snug engagementwith the crown piece. The snug engagement is such as to provideresistance to lateral movement of the ski pole. Movement of the ski isthereby controlled since the crown piece is securely connected to theski and in the preferred embodiment, it forms a part of the boot scraperitself.

Referring now to the drawing and specifically FIG. 1, there is shown thecombination of the invention generally designated by the numberal 10 ofa ski l2 and a boot scraping means 14. The ski 12 may be anyconventional ski of uniform length and width. As with most skis, the ski12 is equipped with a boot binding connected to the upper surface 16 andcomprising a toereceiving element 18, a heel receiving element 20, aheel encircling spring element 22 and straps 24 and 26 for extensionaround the ski boot, the straps being secured to the plate 20 by meansof ears 28 and 30. It will be understood that the showing of theboot-receiving means is illustrative only and forms no part of thisinvention. Any boot-receiving means would be satisfactory and theillustration is intended primarily to show the position of the bootscraping means 14.

As illustrated best in FIGS. 1-3, the boot scraping means 14 comprisesan elongated member 32 which is secured to the upper surface 16 of ski12 by means of a suitable bonding material 34 (FIG. 3). Any suitablepressure sensitive adhesive may be used for the bonding material 34 andit may be in the form of a pad cut to size with an exposed adhesivelayer on its upper and lower faces similar to the pad illustrated anddescribed in US. Pat. No. 3,284,091. Alternatively, the member 32 may besecured to the ski 12 by means of bolts (not shown) or other typicalsecuring means.

The member 32 includes a plurality of upwardly projecting partsdesignated by the numeral 36. The parts 36 are rigid and are preferablyformed as an integral portion of member 32. These parts 36 receive thelower surface 37 of a boot 38 to dislodge any snow on the underside ofthe boot. To assist in dislodging the snow, the parts 36 are typicallyprovided with tapered sides 40 which form an easily accessible vertexjunction 42 over which the sole 37 of boot 38 may readily be moved infrictional engagement. As illustrated, the parts 36 are positionedcrosswise of the member 32 but extend thereacross in several directionsrelative to the direction of the longitudinal axis of the ski 12(illustrated by the arrow 44 in FIG. 1). With this construction, theboot 38 may be passed across the junctions 42in any direction anddislodging of the snow will be easily effected.'This enables a skier toreadily clean one boot while the other boot is in the binding of theother ski.

A preferred structure of the invention is shown best in FIG. 2. Therethe parts 36 extend across the entire width of the member 32 which isshown extending across substantially the entire width of ski l2 and eachpart 36 includes a first section 46 and a second section 48. Thesesections intersect at a position 50 at about the midpoint of the ski 12.As such, the parts 36 are V- shaped, and'the sections 46 and 48 extendacross the member 32 in different directions relative to the directionof the longitudinal axis of the ski. A plurality of such V-shaped parts36 are aligned and evenly spaced along the length of the ski 12 insufficient quantity to provide a number of boot scraping surfaces thuspermitting the boot scraping means to be used conveniently by the skier.

To assist the skier in controlling the movement of the ski during theboot scraping operation, a control means 52 is provided. The controlmeans 52 is preferably formed as a part of boot scraping means 14 butmay be separated therefrom. As shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3, the controlmeans 52 comprises an upwardly projecting crown piece 54 which defines areceptacle 56 adapted to receive the tapered lower section 58 of a skipole 60 in a snug engagement. The engagement of section 58 in receptacle56 is one in which substantially no lateral movement of the pole 60 ispermitted, thus allowing the skier to control the movement of the skiwhen scraping his boot by holding the ski firmly in place with the skipole. With this structure, the skier does not have to bend over duringthe use of the scraping means and may easily clean one shoe while theother is bound to another ski.

While the dimensions of the boot scraping means may vary, best resultsare achieved if a large snow removing area is included. Thus, it ishighly preferable to extend the member 32 across substantially theentire width of the ski and to elongate the member so that the entirelength of the boot can be clean with one action. In one typical example,a width of 2 A inches and a length of 13 inches has been found to beoperationally quite successful. An additional 5 inches in length isincluded for the crown piece 52. The parts 36 project upwardly from the/2 inch thick base portion of the member approximately 3/4 inch whilethe crown piece rises 3 inches above the base portion. With thesedimensions, at least six V-shaped sections may be aligned along themember to provide a large surface area for snow removal.

The member 32 and particularly the projecting parts 36'may be composedof any suitable material which is strong and yet slightly flexible. Theflexibility is desirable in order that the boot scraping means mayaccommodate the flexing of the ski during use conditions. For thispurpose, the scraping means is molded from any suitable plastic such asacrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Other suitable comparable materialssuch as a hard neoprene are also satisfactory.

Although the illustrated and described embodiment of the invention ispreferred for best results, many modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, the parts 36 maybe randomly positioned on the member 32. In addition, the crown piece 52may be separately positioned on the 'ski, even at a' different locationthan the scraping means. The scraping means itself may be located at anyconvenient location on the ski either before or after the toe and heelbinding mechanism. Other departures are also apparent and may readily bemade to enhance the operational value of the boot scraper.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the boot scraping meansof the invention is economical to manufacture and assemble, easy to useby the skier, provides control of the ski during use, and enables askier to clean his boot from any direction relative to the scrapingmeans. As such, it provides a highly attractive combination ofadvantageous characteristics and solves many of the problems stilloutstanding in this art.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination witha ski, boot scraping means comprising a unitarymember operatively connected to the upper surface of said ski, saidmember having a width dimension substantially equivalent to that of saidski and having a plurality of rigid parts projecting upwardly therefrom,said parts being oriented on said member in at least two directionsrelative to the longitudinal extension of said ski thereby being adaptedto receive and clean the lower surface of a ski boot when said boot ismoved across said parts in substantially any direction, and controlmeans operatively connected to said member and adapted to receive thetip of a ski pole in a snug engagement, said control means providingresistance to lateral and axial movement of said engaged ski polethereby to control said ski when said boot scraping means is in use.

2. The combination of claim 1, in which said control means comprises acrown piece extending upwardly from the upper surface of said member anddefining a receptacle therein, said receptacle being adapted to receivethe tip of a ski pole in snug engagement with said crown piece.

3. In combination with a ski, boot scraping means operatively connectedto said ski and adapted to receive and clean the lower surface of a skiboot when said surface is moved on said means, and control meansoperatively connected to said ski and adapted to receive the tip of aski pole in a snug, releasable engagement thereby providing resistanceto lateral and axial movement of said engaged ski pole whereby themovement of said ski is controlled during the movement of said ski booton said boot scraping means, in which said control means is operativelyconnected to said boot scraping means and in which said control meanscomprises a crown piece extending upwardly from said ski and defining areceptacle therein, said receptacle being adapted to receive a ski polein snug engagement with said crown piece.

4. The combination of claim 3, in which said boot scraping meanscomprises an elongated member positioned on the upper surface of saidski and having a plurality of rigid parts projecting upwardly from saidmember, at least some of said parts having first and second sectionsextending across the width of said member in at least two directionsrelative to the longitudinal axis of said ski, said first and secondsections of each of said parts intersecting at some position on saidmember.

5. The combination of claim 4, in which substantially all of said partsare V-shaped, each of said parts being aligned and spaced on said memberalong the longitudinal axis of said ski.

1. In combination with a ski, boot scraping means comprising a unitarymember operatively connected to the upper surface of said ski, saidmember having a width dimension substantially equivalent to that of saidski and having a plurality of rigid parts projecting upwardly therefrom,said parts being oriented on said member in at least two directionsrelative to the longitudinal extension of said ski thereby being adaptedto receive and clean the lower surface of a ski boot when said boot ismoved across said parts in substantially any direction, and controlmeans operatively connected to said member and adapted to receive thetip of a ski pole in a snug engagement, said control means providingresistance to lateral and axial movement of said engaged ski polethereby to control said ski when said boot scraping means is in use. 2.The combination of claim 1, in which said control means comprises acrown piece extending upwardly from the upper surface of said member anddefining a receptacle therein, said receptacle being adapted to receivethe tip of a ski pole in snug engagement with said crown piece.
 3. Incombination with a ski, boot scraping means operatively connected tosaid ski and adapted to receive and clean the lower surface of a skiboot when said surface is moved on said means, and control meansoperatively connected to said ski and adapted to receive the tip of aski pole in a snug, releasable engagement thereby providing resistanceto lateral and axial movement of said engaged ski pole whereby themovement of said ski is controlled during the movement of said ski booton said boot scraping means, in which said control means is operativelyconnected to said boot scraping means and in which said control meanscomprises a crown piece extending upwardly from said ski and defining areceptacle therein, said receptacle being adapted to receive a ski polein snug engagement with said crown piece.
 4. The combination of claim 3,in which said boot scraping means comprises an elongated memberpositioned on the upper surface of said ski and having a plurality ofrigid parts projecting upwardLy from said member, at least some of saidparts having first and second sections extending across the width ofsaid member in at least two directions relative to the longitudinal axisof said ski, said first and second sections of each of said partsintersecting at some position on said member.
 5. The combination ofclaim 4, in which substantially all of said parts are V-shaped, each ofsaid parts being aligned and spaced on said member along thelongitudinal axis of said ski.